Official ASUS X38 Boards: P5E, P5E3 - Info/BIOS Thread

[DJBUDDY]

hey MMaster23 how long did your RMa take, i just sent in my board and ups aid they have recived it today, how long should it take before i get to back?

[lowtcell]

Anyone have experience with this memory? I think I'm going to get this 2x2GB kit from G Skill.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231145

edit: for my P5E.

Yes, there are a lot of people running the P5E/8000PQ combo. This RAM takes a llot of tweaking to get right. Best I am able to get with mine is 1066 @ 2.1v 5,5,5,15. Price dropped quite a bit since I bought mine too.

[DJBUDDY]

Hey guys, ive been reading alot on forums lately, it has be said that running ram 1:1 gives you best performance, currently this is my set up
q6600
p5e(rma in process)
4x1 Cruciall Ballsitix 6400 800mhz 4-4-4-12
8800gt
520 crosair psu

now im running everything stock settings, i have never overclocked, but is it possible to get my memory running 1:1 witout overclocking the cpu becuase i have a stock cooler, or is it possible to run the memory at faster speeds like 8500 1066mzh and get better performance?

[panfist]

DJBUDDY,

Generally speaking your memory speeds effect your system performance very little on a day to day basis. If stability is what you are after, just leave everything at default. If you don't want overclock your processor, you will have to underclock your to your memory. You processor is running at 266MHz x 4 = 1066MHz FSB, so to get your memory in a 1:1 ratio then underclock it so that it equals 266MHz x 2 = 533MHz. At 533MHz you should be able tighten up your timings, but in all honesty it's not worth the effort. By underclocking your memory you will be putting a little less stress on your northbridge, maybe, but you're also losing a significant amount of bandwidth. Any advantage you might get from running in 1:1 you lose due to the fact that you're underclocking your RAM by about 30%.

If you were going to take the time to tweak your board for optimal 1:1 performance, I would lower the multiplier on your processor, and raise the FSB to match your RAM. That way, your processor is still running at it's rated speed, albeit with an overclocked FSB. Still...I doubt this is worth the time for you as the only time you will notice a difference is in synthetic benchmarks.

Making a choice to run in 1:1 is best made at two times in the life of a system:
a.) When you buy it you can plan on buying RAM of the appropriate speed and the tightest latencies you can afford, or
b.) When you're overclocking, if you can somehow find a sweet spot when you're close to maxing your processor's speed and it's convenient to adjust your RAM to put in 1:1.

Originally from a Tom's Hardware Ultimate RAM Speed Tests

The results must look disappointing for the memory vendors, as the largest performance differences we found amount to 7-8% with DivX and WinRAR, while almost all other benchmarks and applications perform alike: a 1-3% performance delta cannot be noticed at all. Some games showed several per cent performance difference between low-latency high-speed memory and conventional high-latency average speed DIMMs. The synthetic benchmarks on the memory revealed even more differences, but these clearly aren’t very relevant in everyday life.

[DJBUDDY]

ok, thank you, how bout tunning a everday system, i see options in bios somtin called transiscion booster and ai twister do these settings effect defualt options for everday use and gaming?

[panfist]

ok, thank you, how bout tunning a everday system, i see options in bios somtin called transiscion booster and ai twister do these settings effect defualt options for everday use and gaming?

Honestly I have no idea what these settings do, the documentation on them is practically non-existent. When a motherboard manufacturer includes these features they tend to be more like marketing bullcrap than anything actually useful. If they did actually do anything, I would bet that ASUS would be more eager to share exactly what it does and how much it helps. Honestly, the performance difference you will get from turning on transaction booster or ai twister will most likely be less than if you just disable them and overclock your processor by as low as 5%. They probably won't help you in day to day tasks or multitasking, they are just in there to give the motherboard a few extra points in synthetic benchmarks.

When it comes to real world performance, core clock speed is king. Increasing your core clock speed nets you the biggest boost by far, and tweaking pretty much any other settings is only worth your time if its a hobby to get as many points in benchmarks as possible.

edit: for gaming, the benefit you get from minor tweaks like transaction booster or twister will really depend on the game, but you're still just better off increasing your core clock speed. that's a proven method to increase your performance.

[De1337]

Don't know what transaction booster does, but the clock twister will lower the "Performance Level" memory option, granting better memory bandwith, albeit, at the potential loss of stability.

and by the way, with 0605, setting my ai clock twister to light, leads me directly to CrashFree bios recovery... i have no clue why.. after i save, that's the first thing i see, and it will just loop until i feed it a bios file. Happened twice (had to try again :P)

[BulldogPO]

BTW, any new biosses for P5E3 WS PRO, or info how to enable internal voltage and temperature sensors on that board?

[antari]

Runnin 8gb@1100 with no issues man.... Good/cheap/effective.....

Could you share your BIOS version and settings? I'm having issues running 8GB above 1030 on my P5E where I could do 1066 stable on P35 and up to 1150 for benching.

bump

[screwtech02]

bump

You got PM man......

[necron66]

Don't know what transaction booster does, but the clock twister will lower the "Performance Level" memory option, granting better memory bandwith, albeit, at the potential loss of stability.

and by the way, with 0605, setting my ai clock twister to light, leads me directly to CrashFree bios recovery... i have no clue why.. after i save, that's the first thing i see, and it will just loop until i feed it a bios file. Happened twice (had to try again :P)

Transaction booster sets PL, if you have say PL6 on enable 0, going to enable 1 will give you PL5, enable 2 PL4 and disable 0 would be PL7 ect.

[necron66]

Hey guys, ive been reading alot on forums lately, it has be said that running ram 1:1 gives you best performance, currently this is my set up
q6600
p5e(rma in process)
4x1 Cruciall Ballsitix 6400 800mhz 4-4-4-12
8800gt
520 crosair psu

now im running everything stock settings, i have never overclocked, but is it possible to get my memory running 1:1 witout overclocking the cpu becuase i have a stock cooler, or is it possible to run the memory at faster speeds like 8500 1066mzh and get better performance?

If I run 1:1 at 500 fsb I get PL8, 500FSB with 5:8 I can use PL7.

[WeldZilla]

With the P5E running your memory at 1:1 does not give best performance!!! Not even close.

If Tom's Whoreware says it then you automatically know it is just nonsense.

I remember when they were spouting years ago How SIS chipsets were better than Intel chipsets. What a fricken joke you couldn't even lock their agp/pci clocks. And tell me how the SIS revolution has stormed the industry. They should be run from the net over there and they would be if people would quit clicking on their site.


WZ

[Xelation]

I posted this earlier somewhere in the middle of this thread about 1:1, check under memory:

Link: Intel Overclocking Redefined: Guide to Successful Overclocking with NB Straps in Mind

The Memory

Current systems use DDR, DDR2, and in the future DDR3 memory. DDR stands for dual data rate. What this means is that the memory transmits data on both ends of the sine curve. For those less mathematically inclined, the result is 2 times the data bandwidth. The number after DDR stands for the generation of memory. Newer generations have the capability of higher speeds than older generations, but are no faster at the same speeds. We will focus on DDR2 memory, since that is what is used the majority of current Intel systems (Q2 07).

Your memory speeds can be tricky. This is because, like the CPU's FSB, it has rated and actual speeds.

For example, DDR2-800, is DDR2 memory rated at 800Mhz. However, that is its rated (Dual Data Rate) speed. The memory is actually only running at 400Mhz, but since data is being read on both peaks of each cycle, its rated speed is doubled.

Memory takes data from the system's hard drive and communicates it to the CPU for execution.

People compare the speed of the memory as a ratio to the CPU's FSB. For this ratio, you use the actual memory speed, not the rated speed.

For example, a CPU with a FSB of 266.66Mhz will be in a 1:1 ratio with memory at 266.66Mhz (DDR2-533)

People are confused (misinformed) as to what ratio is optimal for system performance. When looking at the bandwidth in terms of MB/s, your memory needs to be operating 2 times as fast as the CPU's FSB in order to match the CPU's L2 bandwidth. If you want to calculate your CPU’s or memory’s bandwidth you simply multiply the actual frequency by .016. This will give you the maximum theoretical bandwidth in GB/s.

For Example:

DDR2-800 has an actual speed of 400Mhz. 400Mhz x .016 = 6.4GB/s maximum bandwidth.

So, for optimal settings a CPU with a FSB of 266.66Mhz would want memory running at 533Mhz (DDR2-1066). However, this is highly unlikely that you will have memory that can run in a 2:1 ratio with your FSB. A 1:1 ratio is more often the target ratio as it is easier to reach with most memory.

A more in depth (mathematical) way of explaining the memory and system relationship is as follows:

If you want to calculate FSB bandwidth of a Core 2 Duo you multiply bus frequncy (266.66) times the transfers per clock (4) and the FSB width (64bit or 8 byte).

Therefore, a system with a 266.66Mhz FSB (stock Core 2 Duo) has a FSB bandwidth of:

266.66 x 4 x 8 = 8533.33MB/s

Your memory has a 64bit (8 byte) width and a capability of 2 transfers per clock (DDR).

Therefore, to flood the FSB bandwidth you get:

8533.33MB/s = X Mhz * 2 * 8
8533.33MB/s = X Mhz * 16
533.33Mhz = X

Therefore a memory bus speed of 533.33Mhz or DDR2-1066 will flood the FSB bandwidth.

Memory also has a series of latencies. Latencies are measured in terms of clock cycle delays. In order to understand how the latencies work, you must also understand how the memory reads and writes data.

DDR2 memory is a type of SDRAM. SDRAM stands for Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory. The memory is organized like a matrix or chart, with data arranged in rows and columns. The data is stored in blocks whose location are found by the coordinates of the specific rows and columns. Latencies come from the memory looking for the data in these series of rows and columns. The four most common latencies are:
Column Address Strobe Latency (tCAS / CAS / tCL). This is the number of clock cycles needed to access a specific column of data.
Row Address Strobe (tRCD, RAS). This is the number of clock cycles that it takes for the memory to actually start reading or writing from the time the coordinates of the data are defined.
Row Precharge time (tRP) and is the number of clock cycles needed to end access to one row of memory and open access to the next row of memory.
Active to Precharge Delay (tRAS) and is the number of clock cycles needed to access a specific row of data in the memory between the data request and the pre-charge command.
So what you have are 4 series of latencies. If you didn’t get much of the above paragraph, get this. The lower the latencies the better for system performance. However, lower latencies mean less stability at any given voltage. Common value of latencies are 3-3-3-X, 4-4-4-X, 5-5-5-X. The reason I put X in the last spot is because the latencies in this sport vary greatly, but are most commonly between 4 and 18 clock cycles.

Simply comparing memory latencies with considering the speed at which the memory is running those latencies is silly. This is because the overall latencies in nano-seconds is derived from dividing your total latencies in cycles by how many cycles your RAM can complete in one second. This gives you latencies per operation in seconds.

For example:

DDR2-800 does 800,000,000 cycles per second. Latencies of 4-4-4-12 add up to 24 cycles per operation of latency. Divide 24 cycles of latencies by 800,000,000 cycles and you get 30 nano-seconds worth of latencies per operation. However, DDR2-1000 with latencies of 5-5-5-15 also net you the same 30 nano-seconds of latencies per operation (30 / 1,000,000,000).

However, even though both settings have the same latencies. DDR2-1000 @ 5-5-5-15 is better than DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12, this is because DDR2-1000 has more data throughput when compared to DDR2-800.

Now, it is also a common myth that a system will be faster when it is "synced" (i.e. in a 1:1 ratio as apposed to a 5:4 ratio) with the processor. This is simply not true (or there is no substantial evidence to prove that it is true). Most people who will claim this and provide benchmarks are often missing a variable that would explain the difference in performance.

A few quick benchmarks proves this:

FSB = 200
Mutliplier = 9
CPU Speed = 1.8Ghz

@ 1:1 DDR2-400 Memory bandwidth = 3224MB/s
@ 2:3 DDR2-600 Memory bandwidth = 3774MB/s
@ 1:2 DDR2-800 Memory bandwidth = 4047MB/s

[EOD]

For those with the Rampage Bios, there is a new bios dated today on the ASUS FTP site:
401

[Aleslammer]

Reading the the two links below
http://www.ohttp://www.anandtech.com...oc.aspx?i=3208
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...839#post266839

I install a set of Patriot Extreme Performance (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600) 5-5-5-12, 2.3v,
flashed to RF0219, set Vcore to 1.45v, Dram to 2.2v & NB to 1.51, all other voltages to min. After trying dif settings & voltages
for a few hours I couldn't post or make it to Windows without a BSOD or locking up with anything above 1100mhz. Thinking
the ram may not be up to spec I flashed to P5E0107 set Dram to 2.26v, 350fsb ram @ 1120, 8:5 all memory timings auto,
Trans Booster:Auto I'm in Windows looking at Memset w/ a performance level of 7. Back in BIOS I set Mem to 5-5-5-15, Trans
Booster:enabled 2 and back in Windows w/ Memset I got a perf level of 4, I also tried 10x350 1166, 5:3 & 10x360 1153, 8:5.
The 1166 locked up when I started Memset. The perf level 4 was calc'd from the Anandtech review and I've had a set of Corsair
XMS2 6400C4 at 1120 & 1153 same voltage and benched the settings.

Next I tried P5E0605 couldn't get anything above 1100mhz on the ram, After trying things for awhile I end up running 10x355, 1068 3:2
@ 5-5-5-15-3-40-6-3, perf level 5. The odd thing was when the Trans Booster was auto, Memset was showing a perf level of 6.
Setting Trans Booster:enabled 0, I couldn't post, setting disable 0 posted, and had a perf level of 5 in Memset.

Next I set every thing to auto, except voltages and ram at 1066 2:1 posted but crashed so hard it was looking for the CD, turned it
off, pressed F1 set timings from 10x355 w/ Trans Booster:auto, posted with a perf level of 8. Used Memset to check perf level locked up
at 2. Set Trans Booster:enabled 4, no post, enabled 3 post Memset showing a perf level 3.

Also while using the RF BIOS, tried the following:
9X400, ram 1066 4:3 calc'd perf level 6 made it windows, no post perf level 5
7x500, ram 1000 1:1 calc'd perf level 8 no post, in windows @ 9
DRAM Static Read Enabled through out.
Calc's based on CAS 5 timings

[spajdr]

Hello guys, does Xeon X3350 works fine on this mobo? anyone tested?

[roman63]

Hello guys, does Xeon X3350 works fine on this mobo? anyone tested?

Yes - works fine.

[spajdr]

Yes - works fine.

Dyk more

[leejsmith]

i think i have found the correct settings for the kingston hyperx 1066 ram on the p5e. the 512mb sticks are now listed as qualified on the asus website and they are passing my memtest runs with no problems so i put in 2 x 1gb sticks that fail every test on there own with the 512mb sticks as the first pair and so far they are working so going to let them run for a bit and will use memset so see whats going on.

[DJBUDDY]

Hey guys, just got my board back from rma thru asus, its a newer revision board, 1.03g, it was brand new, so im happy, it came with bios 203, and im running my crucial ballsitx (6400) at 1066mhz 1:2, without overclocking my cpu and i see no problems yet, should i upgrade to a higher bios or stay with the one thats already loaded on to the board

[wyemarn]

Hey guys, just got my board back from rma thru asus, its a newer revision board, 1.03g, it was brand new, so im happy, it came with bios 203, and im running my crucial ballsitx (6400) at 1066mhz 1:2, without overclocking my cpu and i see no problems yet, should i upgrade to a higher bios or stay with the one thats already loaded on to the board

I think you should update to the latest one to fix bugs. Btw I bought mine last month and it's a 1.03G.

[shiznit93]

I'm having trouble getting my 1GB Ballistix DDR2-1066 sticks running stable on this board. I called Crucial and they told me to set timings to 5-5-5-15 and 2.2v and leave everything else on auto, but even if I downclock the ram to DDR2-800 and only using 2x1GB I still get blue screens. Running some cheapo DDR2-667 ram for the past couple days and no issues at all. I flashed my P5E to Rampage 0219 and still no help. Any suggestions?

[DJBUDDY]

which bios are you using, im running my ballistix 6400 at 1066 with 5-5-5-15 2.2v without a problem

[shiznit93]

which bios are you using, im running my ballistix 6400 at 1066 with 5-5-5-15 2.2v without a problem

right now Rampage 0219, before it was whatever shipped with the board, i think 502.